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TPD Communications Bureau - History
| The City of Tampa Police and Fire Rescue Communications Center opened its doors in August 2000. It houses the Tampa Police primary 911 Public Safety Answering Point and the Tampa Fire Rescue secondary 911 PSAP. The center serves a population of 350,000. Each week the city hosts nearly one-million visitors, which adds to the calls for service. With 17,000 square feet the center comfortably supports 39 dispatch/call taking positions, 5 administrative support offices, a training room that seats 26, a Roll Call room that seats 20, a conference room that seats 12, and a break room that also seats 12. The operations floor is outfitted with the latest technology including intelligent workstations that incorporate the following: touch screen telephone systems; Reverse 911; Police Computer Aided Dispatch by Versaterm; Fire CAD by Astracad; 911 mapping by Microdata; ergonomic desks by Xybix; Fire AVL system by RSI, synchronized time by NetClock; Police helicopter feed by GyroCam; digital audio recording by Dictaphone; radio monitors by Orbacom. |
Communications Technology has GREATLY improved |
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Twenty years ago if there was a car accident it was called in to the police when a passerby got to a payphone.
911 was not available in Tampa yet.
Now, with cellular phones so prevalent, one accident may generate 15-20
calls to 911 within seconds. As technology continues to improve, the
role of Communications changes. In the past, if there was a 911 hang-up
call made by a cellular caller, there was no way to determine the
caller’s location. Now cell-phones can send X/Y coordinates that allow
dispatchers to reverse geo-code the data and hopefully get a fixed
address. The information includes two percentages. One number displays
a certainty factor regarding the caller’s location; the other percentage
provides a range of how far from the X/Y coordinates the caller may be.
As an example, a 911 call may show there is 90% confidence that the
caller is within 5 feet of the location provided.
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Dispatchers now use these tools to get help to those in need. There have been many occasions when the caller
does not know where they are; yet the dispatcher is able to determine the location and send the police. Recent upgrades allow dispatchers to
continuously update the location of active cellular 911 calls. Not far
in the future, what is being called Next Generation 911 may be a
reality. This will allow text, picture and video messaging to be sent
directly to the Communications Center. Imagine, a witness using a cell
phone to take a video of an armed robbery suspect and vehicle and
sending that with their call to 911 - the video then sent to the
responding officers’ mobile computer. This is already being tested in
some cities. Police Communication has come a long way from call boxes
and paper notes.
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Technology has also enhanced the role
of Air Service, effecting their impact on Communications. Since the
skies over Tampa began being patrolled in 1973, Air Service has
continuously incorporated new technologies that now include GPS, night
vision cameras and cameras that have broadcast quality. All of these
systems are capable of real time downlinking to multiple locations
including the Communications Center.
Updated technology
is great. Put that same technology in the hands of those who use it to
its full potential and the results can be amazing. Tampa Police
Communications Bureau will continue to remain focused on cutting edge
technological advances and look for ways to put them into everyday
practice.
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